Rainy Days and Bowling
by congressmanmabel
Summary: During their Grunkle-Nephew bonding at the local bowling alley, Dipper makes a small self-deprecating joke thinking no one else would hear him. However the boy is shocked to discover his Grunkle's unusual reaction.
1. Chapter 1

**Note: Takes place after the events of Boyz Crazy'**

* * *

The thunderous crashes of bowling balls colliding with white pins filled the air at the Gravity Falls Bowling Alley. The noise pollution from the falling pins and the hip beats of Little Big Dawg's _Straight Blanchin'_ playing from the speakers made it nearly impossible to hear the heavy rain pour outside. Despite the loud environment, Dipper believed that playing a couple rounds of bowling with his Grunkle Stan was a nice way to spend time on a rainy summer's day.

The adventurous boy decided to take another break from his investigations into the many mysteries of Gravity Falls. Since Mabel was currently hanging out with Candy and Grenda, Dipper planned to spend the day watching a special TV marathon of the _Star Trek: The Original Series_. Halfway through an episode, an undershirt and boxer-clad Stan told the boy that he was going to follow through on his promise of taking him to the local bowling. Dipper was immediately on board with Stan's plan.

Grunkle Stan even took it upon himself to purchase custom-made bowling uniforms for the niblings and him, much like how he made the twins fishing hats earlier in the summer. They were red and black button-up, short-sleeved jerseys with Stan's fez symbol stitched on the back. From the impressive embroidery, Dipper assumed that Stan had to pay a pretty penny for these high quality jerseys. But judging from Stan's positive mood, something told Dipper that the normally frugal cheapskate didn't mind spending the extra money if it meant spending time with his family.

Stan walked back to his seat "Alright, you're up kiddo."

Dipper hopped up from his seat and nodded before grabbing the blue bowling ball from the ball return. Placing his fingers in the holes of the ball, the boy mentally calculated the speed he could bowl the ball and how he could knock down the ten pins.

"Welp, here goes nothing…" He sighed.

Dipper took two long strides while winding his arm backwards. Once his right foot approached the line, he released the ball from his grip. The ball quickly sped down the lane, knocking the pins with a thunderous crack within seconds.

"Sweet Moses! That's one heck of a bowl!" Stan shouted joyfully, grinning at his nephew. Dipper beamed back at his Grunkle for the positive support. The boy looked back to the lane, but his smile vanished the moment the remaining two pins standing on opposite sides.

"Ooh, the dreaded seven-ten split." The elder Pines commentated. Dipper let out an exasperated sigh, not wanting to hear his Grunkle's astute observation. "So what's your strategy kiddo?"

"Honestly, I'm not entirely sure." Dipper spoke truthfully as he shrugged. "At this point, I guess I have no other choice but to wing it."

After retrieving his ball from the return, Dipper narrowed his eyes on the two pins standing horizontally from each other. The boy mentally played the only possible way to successfully knock both pins down. If he were to bowl the ball too quickly or too slowly, it would result in either knocking down one pin or none at all.

Dipper took a deep breath through his nose and exhaled from his mouth, feeling determined.

With the ball in hand, the boy wound his arm backwards and with one controlled throw released the ball, landing it on the wooden floor. The ball rolled dangerously close to the right hand gutter, smoothly traveling down the lane before hitting the ten pin. Once the ball reached contact with the pin, the white target slid over towards the left and knocked down the other pin.

Dipper was ecstatic once he saw both pins fall to the ground. It seemed so unreal that he managed to successfully convert the infamous split. "I actually did it!"

The boy turned to his Grunkle, who grinned at him while clapping with great enthusiasm.

"Great job squirt!" He cheered, giving Dipper a celebratory high five.

Dipper smiled at Stan. Though his gruff Grunkle can be cynical and act annoyed, the old man wouldn't hesitate to display affection him and his sister in the privacy of the Mystery Shack.

"Thanks Grunkle Stan!"

"No problem. Now you sit back and watch the pro here work his magic!" Stan boasted as he proudly gestured to himself. He took the red ball from the ball return. The old man brought the bowling ball to his chest, performed an almost ritualistic booty shake before extending the ball backwards and throwing it down the lane. The bowling ball, however, steered itself towards the left side gutter. The confidence in Stan's face dropped as he watched his ball glide down the semi cylindrical channel in shame.

The old man's ears perked up when he heard youthful laughter from behind. He turned around to find his nephew stifling his snickering.

"I didn't realize that you were a pro at making gutter-balls." Dipper commented sarcastically, still wearing an amused smile.

Stan frowned at the boy, furrowing his bushy brows. Despite the affront, he was secretly proud of his nephew's snarky attitude and dry sense of humor. It was a defining trait the two shared.

However, the elder Pines kept his gruff appearance. "Oh you just laugh now Dipper, but you'll eat your words when I knock down every last one of those bowling pins." Stan took the other red ball and threw it in frustration. The ball rolled down the alley only to knock down two of the ten pins. He facepalmed at his less than stellar bowl.

The old business man turned around saw his nephew smiling at him.

"Can we go grab a snack, since I can't really eat my words and all."

Stan chortled at Dipper's joke. For all of his nephew's shenanigans, the elder Pines knew that he could never stay mad at the boy for long, even if it was over something as petty as his mediocre bowling.

"Sure thing kiddo." Stan happily agreed. He smiled back at Dipper before playfully pushing the tip of his hat down, causing the youngster to chuckle. The boy fixed his hat and immediately followed his Grunkle towards the snack bar.

The two each ordered a can of Pitt Cola and split plate of french fries. Once they settled at their table, the speakers blasted a slick guitar riff followed by a set of upbeat brass instruments. Once the song's melody kicked in, followed by a cheerful _'Yeah-Hoo!'_ and a low _'It's a celebration'_ , Dipper immediately recognized the tune. It was none other than the party classic Celebration by Kool and the Gang.

"Hey, it's the song they're gonna play at my funeral." Dipper mentioned humorously, thinking no one else would hear his self-deprecating joke.

But he was gravely mistaken.

Dipper looked up at Stan and was surprised by the horrified look on his face. The old man's eyes widened with shock and his jaw dropped, a look that was foreign to the boy. Dipper was almost expecting Stan to share the same reaction as Mabel would in this situation; to remedy his self-loathing with kind words, trying to steer him away from such negative emotions. Even though the boy appreciated his sister's concern, that nagging voice in his head told him that he wasn't worth the comfort. Dipper's self-esteem was incredibly low as it was, so the only way to cope was to incorporate self-deprecating humor.

"No way Dipper!" Stan bellowed. The boy stared at his Grunkle, who was now frowning. "That's _my_ funeral song!"

Dipper was puzzled by his relative's bold statement. _"What?"_

"You heard me, it's my funeral song." Stan argued, gesturing to himself with his thumb before crossing his arms. "I already claimed it over twenty years ago, so you can't have it! Try finding another song that better suits you, something more dramatic."

Dipper simply gazed at Grunkle Stan after hearing his rebuttal. _Why would Stan even believe that people would be celebrating over his death?_ He thought in disbelief.

"Come on, you can't call dibs on something before I even existed!"

"Sorry kiddo, but that's the way the world works." Stan spoke with a hint of playfulness in his voice.

"But why would you even assume that people would be happy during your funeral?" Dipper questioned, sounding almost upset.

Stan's face softened upon seeing his nephew's concerned expression. The old man sighed as tapped his fingers on the was hard to make a personal confession to his nephew, but the boy wouldn't hear the end of it until the old man spilled the beans. Stan decided to cut to the chase.

"Look Dipper, I have to admit something: Despite my charming nature and magnetic persona, I have absolutely no friends."

Dipper cocked his brow, almost shocked to hear such a bold statement. "Seriously? Like no one at all?"

"Nada." Stan reaffirmed.

Dipper couldn't believe the con man. "That can't be true. I mean you must of had at least one friend Grunkle Stan."

The elder Pines cringed at the boy's response. But he couldn't tell him the entire truth, not yet at least.

"Well I did have one friend growin' up, but we had a huge fight and we never spoke to each other since. But I really don't like talking about it." He admitted despite being awfully vague about it.

Dipper nodded, understanding how touchy the topic must be for Stan.

"And makin' friends isn't exactly my forte Dipper. I mean I've tried several times. I even attempted to get all buddy-buddy with the people over at the lodge, but they either laugh at my face or ignore me altogether. "

Unfortunately, that didn't make the difficult question even harder to reiterate. "But why do you think that people would be happy if you passed away?"

"Because, I'm not the kinda guy who's worth missing. Heck, I makin' a living as a professional con man, ripping people off left and right. And I'm not much of an outstanding citizen. So once I kick the bucket, I bet the people around here will be tap dancing on top of my grave."

Dipper frowned at the old businessman. "Grunkle Stan, you may say that you have no friends, but that's not true at all."

Stan was about to argue, but Dipper held his hand up. "Let me finish. You have me, Mabel, Soos, and Wendy. We like you despite all of your obvious character flaws. And I know that Waddles want to be your friend too."

Stan stood up to protest. "Come on kid, Soos and Wendy work for me, Waddles is a pig that isn't capable of rational thinking, and you and Mabel are family."

"But who says that you're family members can't also be your friends? The same goes for employees and pets too."

Stan stood in shock. He remembered a certain brother of his being his best friend. But after an accident and ten years of separation only to reunite with another falling out, Stan promised himself to never get too attached to anyone, especially his family. Now his nephew reminded him that friends and family aren't mutually exclusive to each other.

"Grunkle Stan, you might take what I say with a grain of salt, but Mabel and I enjoy hanging out with you. Whether we're watching a movie together or engaging in some criminal activity. Sure the two of us got on the wrong foot earlier this summer, but I've grown to like you a lot. And it makes me upset when you say that you have no friends because, well, I want to be friends with you. So the next time you feel like people don't care about you, then Mabel, myself, Soos, Wendy _and_ Waddles will prove you otherwise."

"Huh." Stan muttered as he absorbed Dipper's reasoning. He was touched that the boy went great lengths just to make him feel better. Of course Dipper didn't know the whole extent of Stan's self-loathing, but he was grateful that his nephew truly cared for him. Stanley tearfully smiled at his nephew as he sat back down.

"Thanks kiddo." He said with sincerity.

"Hey, it's no problem Grunkle Stan." Dipper responded.

Stan decided to take over the reigns in the interrogation. "Okay, now it's my turn to be askin' the big questions. So what makes you think that _'Celebration'_ would be your preferred funeral song?"

Dipper blinked at his Grunkle's inquiry. This was the first time anyone bothered to talk to him about his self-loathing without trying to sound pitiful, which he was silently grateful for. The boy took a few moments to gather his thoughts before giving his answer.

"I just...well, let me put it this way: I never assumed myself to be anyone special, you know? I'm just kind of there. Kids at school make fun of me and most of the adults I know don't even take me seriously. Even though I work hard to try to become somebody who people can rely on, there's this annoying voice in my head that's telling me otherwise. Sure I laugh at myself as a coping mechanism, but when other people mock me, it kind of proves my point that I'm just some worthless nobody. And let's be honest, who would miss a weird, noodle-armed kid like me."

Stan listened to Dipper's explanation with great intent, and he can already empathize with the boy's plight.

"Your sister would, your parents would, _I_ would, Soos would, and I'm definitely certain that Wendy would miss you as well." Stan argued. And a certain poindexter would too...

Dipper looked at his Grunkle with suspicion. He was used to people telling him one too many trite phrases to temporarily remedy his cynical side. All of the it's going to be fines and every cloud has a silver linings irritated Dipper to no end. Worst of all were the denial phrases; whenever someone argues no you're not terrible or you're not weak when he obviously feels that way was never even remotely helpful. If anything, it made him feel worse about himself. The last thing Dipper wanted was Grunkle Stan to give him superficial advice out of pity.

"Look, I appreciate what you're trying to say, but I know that you're just trying to be nice to me." Dipper said bluntly.

"Why would you assume that I was trying to be nice? I'm only telling you the truth."

Any skepticism in Dipper was erased as he looked back at Stan in shock.

"I can relate with what you're going through Dipper. It's difficult living with low self-worth. You're trying to get through this crazy game called life but feeling like a complete burden to your loved ones and thinkin' that they're better off without you." Stan spoke, projecting his own feelings of worthlessness.

"That's exactly how I feel." Dipper piped up. He was surprised that Stan was able to successfully describe how Dipper felt whenever he delved into his self-hatred.

Stan reached out and gently held Dipper's hand into his own.

"It's completely human to have moments of doubting yourself. However, I think the idea that no one will miss you is complete malarkey." He said as he gave the boy's hand a reassuring squeeze. "You're a great kid with a bright mind, growing muscles and big heart who is dedicated to his friends and family. And you have close-knit support group that appreciates you: Mabel loves you very much, Soos enjoys hanging out with ya, and I know that you and Wendy will reconcile from the whole CD fiasco. And you have definitely grown on me in the best possible way. My point is, even in you have moments of self-loathing, you have people who care about you and will not hesitate to help you out. You've got more goin' for you than you realize Dipper. And if you if that nagging voice in your head tries to bring you down, you can always talk to me about it. I'm more than happy to listen."

"Wow…" Dipper voiced with astonishment. He never assumed that Stan of all people would be able to empathize with his feelings of worthlessness and self-doubt. At the same time, he was grateful that Stan was being honest with his encouragements.

"And that's why you can't use _'Celebration'_ as your funeral song." Stan concluded in a dramatic tone. He let go of his nephew's hand and slammed his other fist onto the table.

Dipper chuckled as he smiled at Stan. After calming down, the boy spoke up. "Thanks Grunkle Stan."

"Sure thing kiddo."

Dipper was glad that he and Stan found some common ground, even if it was something as terrible as low self-esteem. All of a sudden, a bright idea popped into the boy's head.

"Alright, I picked the perfect dirge for my funeral that'll blow the few people there away! So during the mass, I'll have the person I bribed money for cut the lights out, resulting in a blackout." He explained animatedly. "Then I'll have a hologram of myself projected above the altar as the theme song from _The X-Files_ will play from the speakers. The fog machine will turn on, surrounding my casket with mist and a crazy laser-light show will ensue. And everyone will be so freaked out that they'll run from the church screaming. I'm telling you Grunkle Stan, it's going to be the funeral of the century!"

Stan grabbed his gut as he laughed heartily at his nephew's humorous scheme. "Sounds really ambitious kid, I love it!" He praised while wiping a tear from his eye.

Dipper beamed at his Grunkle Stan. "You know, I never really talked to anyone about all of my negative emotions, but I'm glad you were willing to listen and speak with me about it."

"Of course kiddo. I'm glad we had this discussion too."

* * *

 **A/N: There is a severe lack of Stan and Dipper bonding fics out there and I am here to help remedy this problem. The two have more similarities than they seem to realize: They're both stubborn, insecure, super protective of their family, snarky, and have absolutely no problem with physically fighting their enemies. So I wanted to write a fic in which they bond over their low self-esteem issues.**

 **The second and final chapter, in which Dipper and Wendy will meet up and reconcile over the CD fiasco, will be uploaded soon!**


	2. Chapter 2

After Dipper and Stan left the bowling alley, they hopped into the red El Diablo, with Dipper sitting in the shotgun seat, and they started their trip back to the Mystery Shack. As they drove down the main street, Dipper looked outside the window and immediately spotted a familiar face a few feet ahead of the car.

It was Wendy Corduroy. The teen gripped onto her umbrella as she carried something in her arms. The girl did not properly prepare herself for the downpour, wearing her green flannel shirt instead of a proper rain coat.

"Wendy…" The boy uttered. It was days since the two last spoke to each other. Dipper remembered how he unintentionally upset Wendy by ignoring how she felt when he asked her to go bowling with him. As the teen told him, Stan and Robbie off, he noticed the anger in her voice along with the hurt in her eyes. It pained Dipper to see her that way, and his contribution in upsetting her made him feel awful about himself.

Dipper needed to atone for his selfish mistake.

"Grunkle Stan, I need you to pull over." Dipper said with determination. Stanley looked over at his nephew before glancing at the redhead walking outside in the pouring rain. The old man nodded at his nephew before pulling up towards the curb.

"I have to apologize to Wendy," Dipper told himself. Just as the boy was about to open the passenger seat door, he felt a calloused hand on his shoulder. Dipper looked over to see Stan giving him a bold smile.

"You got this kiddo." Stan said encouragingly.

Dipper was shocked, but ultimately grateful for the old con man's pep talk. It fueled the fires of Dipper's determination and valor, further motivating him to make amends with Wendy.

He gave his Grunkle an affirmative nod. Zipping up his navy hoodie, the boy got out of the vintage vehicle and slammed the door. Without hesitation, he sprinted towards the teen.

"Wendy!" Dipper called to her. She turned around upon hearing her name and was surprised to see the twelve-year-old running towards her while wearing a worried expression.

Dipper stopped a few feet away from Wendy and leaned over to catch his breath. He needed to start talking while he still had her attention. "Wendy, I am so sorry about hurting your feelings a few days back." He told his friend with sincerity. He maintained eye contact with Wendy, refusing to resist the temptation of looking away. She deserved to have a proper apology dang it! "I should taken your well-being into consideration, but instead I acted like a selfish jerk and ignored how you felt. You deserve to have a friend who respects your feelings and treats you with genuine kindness."

Wendy stood still as she stared at Dipper, astonished with what she was hearing. Dipper, however, assumed that her shocked silence meant that he said something wrong and his anxiety began to grapple his courage.

"I don't expect you to forgive right away…" The boy said as he averted his gaze from Wendy and stared at the building beside them. Or at all... "And if you don't wanna be friends with me anymore...well, I don't blame you…"

Dipper bowed his head in resignation and turned around, starting his sorrowful walk towards the vintage El Diablo. Of course she wouldn't forgive me… Dipper thought, his low self-esteem taking over his head. After acting so selfishly, who in their right mind would?

But a soft hand touched his shoulder and stopped the boy in his tracks. Dipper turned around to see a concerned Wendy bent down to his level while holding the umbrella over the both of them.

"Hey, I forgive you Dipper." She softly informed him.

Dipper's eyes widened with shock. "Wait, what ?" To say he was shocked by her forgiveness would be an understatement. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

Wendy took notice of her friend's disbelief and explained herself. "Look, what happened with me and Robbie and the whole 'mind-control' CD thing took a huge toll on me. I was aware that you and Stan wanted wanted to expose Robbie for what he did. And I also know that you weren't trying to hurt my feelings when you asked me to go bowling, but I was already upset by what Robbie did to me and I just...kinda exploded in front of you and your uncle."

"Nope, don't apologize for venting your emotions. I deserved that verbal lashing and you know it." Dipper interjected while wearing a solemn expression.

"Which leads me to my next point. You actually made the effort to apologize to me, and in all honesty, that was the thing I needed to hear."

A perplexed Dipper gazed at Wendy before she continued her explanation.

"All week I spent my time cooped up in my room feeling sorry for myself and totally stressed out. I've even received a ton of texts from Robbie that were nothing but random sad faces and lyrics from a bunch of My Chemical Romance songs, but no apology for trying to manipulate my thoughts." She huffed, still agitated with her ex-boyfriend's scheme. Realizing her anger was showing through, Wendy took a deep breath and continued.

"I told my Dad about it, and he insisted that doing some lumberjack exercises will help take my mind off of things. But even though I had one heck of a workout, I still found myself thinking about what happened the other night. So this morning I decided that enough was enough and I needed to move on, you know? So I chatted with Soos over the phone and he told me to talk it out with you and Stan, and I agreed with his idea. I went over to the Mystery Shack but only Waddles was home. Then I decided to kill some time by going to the library before going back to the shack during the afternoon. But, lo and behold, we happened to run into each other and you acknowledged what happened. Even though the whole break-up wasn't technically your fault, you still took the mature route by apologizing."

"Wow," Dipper exhaled, "I'm glad I bumped into you when I did."

"Same here man." Wendy agreed. "Oh, and one last thing: I kinda noticed how upset you were feeling when you finished up your apology, and I can relate since it sucks trying to fight off all of those negative emotions. Dipper, you are one of the greatest people I met, and it's sad to see you feeling down. Please don't want you to beat yourself up over what happened man." Dipper looked up at Wendy with awe. He never assumed that someone as cool as Wendy would ever have to struggle with emotions or self-worth. Then it hit him that she was human as well.

"It can be difficult to come to grips with past mistakes, believe me, but it's also important to try to accept what happened and move on. And you did the right thing by acknowledging what happened and apologizing to me. Now the next step is to go forward and continue on with life. And whenever your negative emotions try to get the better of you, you have your awesome family and friends to talk to." She finished, pointing her thumb at herself as someone Dipper can turn to when times are rough.

Dipper was pleasantly surprised by the wonderful advice Wendy had given to him. He was also overcome with relief, knowing that the teen still wanted to be his friend and would be there for him. His guilt over the incident was eradicated, replaced with the comfort that Wendy cared about him.

"Thanks Wendy." Dipper replied gratefully.

"Sure thing man." Wendy responded with a casual smile.

So I can safely assume that we can move on and remain friends?" Dipper inquired.

"You know it man!." Wendy gave Dipper a thumbs up. He was glad that he and Wendy were able to talking things through and move on. Dipper affirmed with a nod.

"Oh! Quick question, are you doing anything today?" The teen asked suddenly.

"Nah, I was planning on watching some TV when I return to the shack. Grunkle Stan's actually driving me back there right now."

"Dude, would it be cool if I come with? I was originally going to stay in my room and watch a double feature of Reefer Madness and Birdemic: Shock and Terror. But now that we bumped into each other and settled that whole fiasco for good, I was wondering if you wanted to have a movie marathon with me?"

"Sure!" Dipper answered enthusiastically. "Since Grunkle Stan is driving us back home, you can ride with us and we can chill there if you want."

"Sounds good man." Wendy affirmed.

* * *

Stan watched his nephew with great intent as the boy caught up with Wendy. He didn't need to hear them talk in order to understand their conversation, their body language alone spoke a thousand words.

Stan smiled upon seeing the kids mend their friendship. If only all relationships could be fixed the same way... He pondered somberly. The old man instantly slapped his forehead. He had to stop pitying himself, at least for the time being. The old codger was happy for his nephew and proud of the twelve-year-old's maturity and self-assertiveness, the two traits that the man had lacked at that age. Dipper was a good kid and he deserved to have friends who cared for him. And despite his renounced faith in God, he prayed that both Dipper and Mabel would not repeat his own mistakes and past follies and that they would become better people than he was.

The con man noticed that Dipper and Wendy got up and started to sprint towards the El Diablo. Stan pushed his serious musings towards the back-burner of his mind and put on a smile before the youngsters could get inside the car. Soon enough Dipper opened up the back seat door, allowing Wendy to hop inside first before heading inside.

"Hey Mr. Pines!" Wendy greeted as she buckled up.

"Change of plans, would it be okay if Wendy hangs out with us at the Mystery Shack?" Dipper asked while putting his seat belt on.

"Of course kiddo." Stan answered. "Although Wendy will have to shell out a few bucks for the chauffeur."

"Oh come on!" Wendy shouted.

Stan laughed heartily at the redhead's response. "I'm just messin' with ya. Let's get goin'."

* * *

A near empty dance hall at the restaurant was brought to life by loud funky music that was emitted from seemingly nowhere since there was not a single amplifier in sight. Up on the stage, the struggling R&B artist, who was only trying to make a living through his mediocre performances at small dance night gigs, approached the microphone and began to belt out his opening song:

"Just hangin' out! (hangin' out!)

Hangin' out with my family,

Havin' ourselves a paartaaay! [offbeat clap]

Just hangin' out!"

Dipper and Wendy erupted into laughter as they sat on the couch and watched the cheesy musical number in a mediocre nature-attacks flick.

"They couldn't even afford extras!?" Dipper snickered.

"Isn't this supposed to be a killer bird movie?" Wendy asked with a chuckle.

"Well the only thing terrifying in this movie is the atrocious acting." Dipper quipped, causing Wendy to chuckle even harder.

Just as the song number progressed, the two friends heard the front door open and slam. Dipper and Wendy turned their attention away from the television set just as Mabel entered the living room.

"Hey bro-bro," She greeted casually, but her eyes widened with joy upon seeing another familiar face sitting next to her twin. "Oh my gosh, Wendy!"

"'Sup Mabel?"

The girl beamed at the two of them. She was aware of the conflict that divided them and she was hoping that they would make amends. "So you guys made up?"

"We sure did." Dipper answered, as he and Wendy exchanged knowing smiles.

"And thus balance has been restored to the Mystery Shack once more!" Mabel proclaimed. Dipper and Wendy smiled at the girl's dramatic narration. The spunky girl walked into the room. "So what are you guys doing right now?" She asked.

"Just hangin' out." Dipper answered. "Hanging out with the family,"

"Having ourselves a party." Wendy concluded.

Mabel smiled at the two once more, content to know that their friendship had been repaired.


End file.
